What Is Curling?

The phrase “people with brooms” may conjure up a variety of visual images. A resident of the US might think of sweeping up after a large party. Someone else might imagine a father cleaning the kitchen after preparing a meal for his young children. For residents of Canada, these words might create visions of intense competitions between teams of dedicated athletics.

Curling Explained

The sport of curling entails two primary pieces of equipment. Foremost is a large, round, polished granite stone weighing between 17 and 20 kilograms. The maximum allowable circumference is 910 millimeters. A colored handle is attached to the top of the rock that allows a player to aim it. The sweepers use push brooms made of hog or horse hair to buff the ice in front of the rock, reducing friction so that it can travel farther and straighter.

Two teams of four players take turns sliding their rocks down a long piece of ice toward a circular target, called the house. The dimensions of the piece of ice, or sheet, can be no more than 150 feet long and 16.5 feet wide.

The house looks like a bullseye with three concentric rings. It is made up of four parts:

• button — the small circle at the very center, gives the most points for landing a rock here
• next bigger circle extending out by two feet (four feet in diameter)
• next one by four feet (eight feet in diameter)
• final circle at six feet (twelve feet in diameter)

A rock does not score unless it touches at least the outermost circle.

Preparation of the Ice

As you can imagine, the surface of the ice is very important. It is usually maintained at a temperature of minus five degrees Celsius. Before a match begins, the ice maker sprays droplets of water onto it that freeze and form a dimpled surface. These pebbles reduce the friction between the rock and the ice and also give the sweepers something to melt.

How to Play

Each of the four players has two rocks to throw. When all rocks have been thrown, the team with the one closest to the button wins that round, called an end. All rocks closer to the button than any of the opponent’s rocks are given a point. Eight is the maximum number of points that any team could gain during an end.

Curling matches have 10 ends which each take about 15 minutes to play. The team with the most points at the conclusion of 10 ends is declared the winner.

Popularity

Curling enjoys a high degree of popularity in Canada, where the climate is hospitable to a sport played on ice. The Canadian Curling Association is based in Ottawa, located in the province of Ontario. It counts over a million curlers in the entire country, which explains how Canada can claim more world curling championship titles than any other country.

Curling is more than an athletic pursuit in Canada, it is also a social occasion. The good sportsmanship that characterizes play on the ice influences the spectators’ courteous deportment. One tradition mandates that the winning team buy refreshments for the losing team after the match, with the losing team then returning the favor by purchasing the next round.

Fair play, food, and friendly conduct? It sounds like a sport I might try!

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